1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to retail displays. More particularly, the invention relates to countertop displays of a type suitable for displaying articles such as bands for wristwatches.
2. Description of the Art
Watchbands are commonly packaged in transparent display boxes, often comprising a transparent five-sided polystyrene cover and an opaque back. One typical size for such a box is 5.35 inches long by 0.980 inches high by 0.435 inches wide. A variety of types of racks and cases have been utilized to display and dispense watchbands. In the retail environment, watchbands are typically sold in the jewelry departments of stores, with the display rack or case positioned on a countertop. Since many countertops are on glass display cases, the presence of the rack interferes with viewing of the contents of the display case. It is therefore desirable to provide a display which makes space-efficient use of the countertop.
In view of the fact that the marketplace provides a wide variety of styles of watchband and a wide variety of sizes (widths) within each style, the number of watchbands necessary or desirable to stock in a retail establishment is rather high. For example, watchbands commonly come in twelve widths: 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 22 millimeters. Even if a typical style of watchband comes in only four of those widths, it is necessary to provide a display that can hold one hundred and sixty bands in order to enable the seller to stock forty varieties of watchband without duplication. To allow for duplication, so that restocking is not necessary after each sale, a greater number of spaces is desirable. Conventional displays either lack adequate space to accommodate a plethora of sizes and styles of bands, or, if they do provide enough space, they lack the capacity to be expanded to fit a growing business. Accordingly, there exists a need in the watchband marketing community for an expandable display case that is easily expanded and countertop mounted. The present invention provides a solution to that need.